Former Jacksonville high school star and University of Georgia track and field standout Torrin Lawrence was killed early Monday morning when a semi truck hit his disabled car on Interstate 75 near Cordele, Ga.

Lawrence, who was on his way home to Jacksonville, was 25.

“In speaking for the UGa track and field community, I am shocked and pained with news of Torrin's death,” Bulldogs head track coach Wayne Norton said in a statement on the school's website.

“First, my prayers for comfort are for Torrin’s mother and family. Second, this makes me reflect on Torrin and remember him as one of the greatest talents I have ever seen.”

The accident occurred when Lawrence’s car blew a tire and came to a stop in a southbound lane around 1:40 a.m. A WALB-TV report, citing Crisp County Sheriff Billy Hancock, said that Lawrence's car was struck by the semi after his tire blew. Hancock later told an NBC reporter that they weren't “exactly sure where he was in relation to the car.”

Lawrence graduated with a degree in sociology last year and had since turned pro. He was a seven-time All-American at Georgia and a three-time SEC champion.

Lawrence rose to prominence at Jackson High, settling into his role as one of the best sprinters in the state with a quiet confidence. Lawrence had little interest in school and less in sports when he first arrived at Jackson, yet wound up excelling in both by the end of his career.

“He was an amazing kid, a very humble kid,” said Lawrence's former coach Jason Greer, now the head coach at Orlando Olympia. “He’s the guy that really brought everybody together. He was the glue that kept us all together. He had so much future ahead of him.”

Lawrence won the 400-meter dash as a junior, and captured district and regional titles in the 100, 200 and 400 as a senior. An injury knocked him out at the state meet, but Lawrence was still the Times-Union’s All-First Coast athlete of the year in 2008.

Lawrence was a seven-time All-American and three-time Southeastern Conference champion who won the NCAA 400-meter championship in 2010. More recently, Lawrence earned a gold medal as a member of the U.S.’s 4x400 relay team at the IAAF World Relays in May.